Burying Immortals, Burying Oneself

The grand hall of the Ice Lion Sect was exceptionally magnificent, spanning over three hundred zhang in length. It could accommodate virtually every disciple of the sect inside. Before the hall's entrance stood two stone sculptures of ice lions, each over ten zhang tall. It seemed the great ice lion demon shared deep origins with this sect. Although Hu Shouqing felt slightly more at ease, facing a mighty cultivator of the Tribulation Transcendence realm inevitably made him nervous. In particular, standing beside Li Guanqi, that faint, imperceptible pressure felt overwhelmingly terrifying. Noticing this, Li Guanqi deliberately reined in his aura. Upon entering the grand hall, Hu Shouqing, despite being the sect master of the Ice Lion Sect, did not take the seat of honor. Instead, he took a lower seat, just like Li Guanqi and the others. Once they were seated, maidservants soon brought forth precious spirit fruits and fine spirit wine. The lowest among the spirit fruits was rank six! Let alone being served as refreshments, any of them offered to disciples would yield immense benefits. Yet even so, Hu Shouqing still felt this hospitality was somewhat meager for someone of Li Guanqi's stature. Just as he sat down, Hu Shouqing discovered in horror that a large white radish was perching on his shoulder with its rear sticking up, sneakily stuffing spirit fruits into its mouth. As it stuffed itself, its other hand kept tossing spirit fruits into a rift in space. Its mouth crammed full with a fist-sized spirit fruit, Pengluo turned slightly, locking eyes with the old man. Pengluo gave an awkward smile, then went right back to scarfing down the fruits. Hu Shouqing, however, went entirely stiff, not daring to twitch a muscle. Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and his hands and feet went numb. Because the aura radiating from this big radish, which had appeared out of nowhere, was equally terrifying! "A... a ninth-rank... spirit creature!" *What kind of monster is this?!* Somewhat exasperated, Li Guanqi said, "Pengluo, rein in your aura." Hearing this, Pengluo hurriedly wiped its mouth and nodded in agreement. "Oh oh oh, alright, alright." With that, it hopped off the old man's shoulder onto the table and plopped down on its backside. Casually, it patted the shoulder of the old man beside it. "Old Man Guo, long time no see! Got any sugar beans for me?" Guo Feng's face twitched. The "sugar beans" this big radish spoke of were hardly actual sweets. Every single one was a genuine eighth-grade pill. Yet even though the old man thought to himself, *Choke on them and drop dead, you brat,* on the surface he produced a storage ring with a beaming smile. Pengluo merely cast a glance at it and muttered crossly, "Haven't you all been slacking off too much lately? You need to go to the Seventh Domain to get whipped into shape. Just look at the old fellows in the Pill King Tower—they do nothing all day except churn out pills non-stop." At these words, Jiang Qizhi's and Han Yuan's expressions shifted slightly. Li Guanqi, on the other hand, acted as if he hadn't heard a thing, lowering his head to sip his wine. "Mm, fine wine. Mellow and lingering, smooth on the palate." Hu Shouqing was utterly dumbfounded. A true dragon, a ninth-rank great demon that one might never see in a lifetime... A ninth-rank spirit creature beyond one's wildest dreams... And a mid-stage Tribulation Transcendence realm powerhouse under forty years old. Pengluo scoured all three old men, then trotted cheerfully over to Li Guanqi's side. Pulling out two fist-sized pills, it fawned over Jiuxiao and handed them over. Jiuxiao had originally been dozing, but forced itself awake to swallow the pills, shooting Pengluo an annoyed glance. Pengluo, having swept away all the spirit fruits beside the others, grinned broadly and scurried off into the void. Setting down his wine cup, Li Guanqi looked up at the men before him with a smile. "Elder Han, you seniors must share quite a deep bond with Senior Hu, don't you?" Han Yuan did not conceal it. The men exchanged glances, and Hu Shouqing looked somewhat awkward. Knowing full well that Li Guanqi might have urgent business, the three old men had deliberately remained at the Ice Lion Sect waiting for him to arrive. It was not to flaunt their seniority, but because they had a favor to ask of him. "Indeed. We old fellows have known each other for thousands of years. Our bond is just like the sworn brotherhood you share with your own brothers." Seeing this, Jiang Qizhi took on a solemn expression and asked in a low voice, "Little Friend Li, could Old Hu be allowed into the Seventh Domain as well?" Li Guanqi sighed. The moment he met Hu Shouqing, he had sensed a touch of death aura lingering on him. His lifespan was nearing its end; perhaps only in the Seventh Domain could he gain a chance to eke out more time, and with all the rare heavenly treasures there, perhaps find an opportunity to break through to Tribulation Transcendence. Hu Shouqing's cultivation was by no means low—peak Mahayana realm, a mere step away from the Tribulation Transcendence realm. Given the right opportunity, he could very well step into the half-step Tribulation Transcendence realm. Li Guanqi let out another sigh, and that single breath set everyone's heart on edge. Setting down the cup in his hand, Li Guanqi looked up at them. "It seems you seniors still do not truly understand the Seventh Domain..." Just as Guo Feng was about to argue, Li Guanqi spoke again. "Everything you know is merely bits and pieces heard from Senior Gu Changsheng. "Yet... from the moment Senior Gu entered the Seventh Domain, he has never stepped onto the battlefield! "Cultivators within the Four Heavenly King Towers never take to the battlefield unless it is a matter of absolute life and death." Hearing this, everyone's heart trembled. They had learned plenty from Gu Changsheng about the Seventh Domain being a battlefield. Li Guanqi's gaze sharpened, his eyes fixing on the three men before him as he said solemnly, "The world knows that the Seventh Domain is the key to ascending to the Immortal Realm. "Yet... do you know how many have died in the Seventh Domain in the three years since I entered it?" Looking at the silent men, Li Guanqi uttered a number that plunged the entire room into deathly stillness. "One hundred and forty-seven! "One hundred and forty-seven! Fully half of what the entire Seventh Domain had amassed over thousands of years. "And among those one hundred and forty-seven, the very weakest was in the Mahayana realm! "Mahayana cultivators who, in either the Six Domains or the Ethereal Immortal Domain, would be towering titans of their regions." A dead, oppressive silence spread throughout the spacious hall. Li Guanqi said nothing more, merely sipping his wine in silence. Only after a long while did he slowly speak again. "Every cultivator in the Seventh Domain has long prepared themselves for certain death. "Whether ordinary cultivators or those within the Four Heavenly King Towers. "If the moment truly comes when all living beings hang in the balance, every single one of them is ready to sacrifice themselves. "The Seventh Domain... buries immortals, and buries oneself as well..." The reason Li Guanqi spoke with such gravity was that he wanted them to understand clearly what they would face if they went to the Seventh Domain. Perhaps Hu Shouqing only sought that slim thread of survival. There was nothing wrong with that. Yet... In the Seventh Domain, if you wanted to find that thread of life, you had to pay an immense price. And the reason he had chosen to make this trip to the Ethereal Immortal Domain was precisely because the Seventh Domain was so starved for people now. Though their movements remained unknown, he was certain that the cultivators of the Immortal Realm would never let things rest. Once the Immortal Realm finished recovering, if the Seventh Domain lacked sufficient strength, things would become exceptionally dire!